A nice garden can do a lot for a home. Aside from obvious benefits like having fresh flowers and vegetables in the yard, a garden can have a significant impact on your landscaping. While the benefits of a garden are clear, it is not something that will just grow on its own. It takes some planning, a little bit of practice, and working with garden bed edging techniques to develop a well maintained space that will fit in with the rest of the home exterior.

One element that goes into creating a garden that looks good is the shape of the beds. This post will give you a step-by-step guide on how to edge a garden and make perfectly shaped garden beds. You’ll begin by picking your plants, finding a location, and preparing the space. Then you’ll make an outline and edge it, clear the area, and prep the soil. Soon after, you’ll have an outdoor garden that brings beauty to your home.

Select Your Plants

The first thing you need to do in creating a beautiful garden bed is determine the types of plants you plan to grow. Plants come in different shapes and sizes, and the amount of space they’ll need can vary depending on factors like the size of a plants roots. For example, the plants found in most vegetable gardens will not take up much space. However, if you plan to grow trees or shrubs, you will need to designate a larger area for their growth. Determining the space you need when planting will help you later on when you edge your garden.

Pick a Location for Your Edged Garden

Now that you’ve chosen which plants to grow, you should have a better understanding of the necessary size of the garden bed and the conditions that will work well for the plants you are growing.

Find a spot in the yard that will not only provide your garden with the space it needs, but one that also has the right amount of sun exposure and drainage. It should also meet the soil needs of the plants. When selecting an area for your garden, be mindful of any underground utilities, pipes, or electrical wires that could be damaged by the tools that will be used to lay or maintain it.

Prepare the Space

With a space for the garden bed picked out, you want to prepare the area for a natural, concrete, or steel garden edge. If there are any large objects like furniture, stones, or landscaping elements, they will need to be removed. If you are working with an existing garden bed edge, you will need to remove the borders so you can start fresh with a new design. This is also a good time to decide whether you want to input a concrete garden edge, steel garden edge, or go for a more natural version of garden bed edging.

Make an Outline for Garden Bed Edging

You have a few options for making an outline for the garden bed. It’s an easy job that anyone can do, even if you’re unfamiliar with how to edge a garden.

If you don’t need to be precise, you can simply lay a hose down along a rough outline of the shape you are trying to create. For garden bed edging designs that require more precision, consider driving stakes and using string to follow the outline. Once the area is demarcated with string or a hose, you can follow along to mark the boundaries with spray paint.

One point to consider when deciding how to edge your garden is whether you’ll need to mow the lawn near the boundary of the garden bed. Some designs might make it difficult to use a lawn mower near the boundaries of the garden. If it becomes too difficult to use your mower near the garden bed edges, using a cordless string trimmer can be a good option for maintaining the area around the garden.

Cut the Edge of the Garden Bed

With your outline marked, you can now cut a defined edge for the garden bed. You have two options for cutting out your natural, steel, or concrete garden edge. Again, if you are not worried about precision, you could use a spade to cut along the rough outline. If you want to make it quicker, easier, and more precise, you should use a lawn edger to cut the outline.

Most edgers will serve the basic function of cutting the outline of the garden bed. But if you want to ensure accuracy, a tool like the 12 Amp Electric 7.5” Lawn Edger/Trencher is a good choice. As a wheeled edger, it is very easy to control. The model features a cutting line indicator, meaning it will be easy to follow the outline with greater accuracy.

Clear the Area

Now that you have your garden bed edging established, you need to clear the area of plants and other debris. If there is grass, you will need to pull up the sod. It’s also a good time to remove any existing plants, pull up any weeds, and remove any sticks, leaves, or rocks in the area.

If it is a large space with lots of leaves and other bits of plant detritus, make the job easier by using a leaf blower. With a model like the 20V Turbine Cordless Leaf Blower, you could have the area clear in a fraction of the time it would take to do it by hand or with a rake.

Prep the Soil

Now that the area is clear, it’s time to till or dig up the soil. Once the soil is properly tilled, the next step is to lay down a bed of mulch for your new edged garden bed. Start with a layer of about 2-3 inches of mulch. If the soil in the area is of a poor quality, you may want to consider mixing some compost mulch in with bark mulch to create better conditions for the plants.

No matter if you’re looking to include a concrete garden edge, steel garden edge, or just use grass to edge your garden, this guide will help you achieve the look you want. When it comes to successful garden bed edging, the right edgers and trimmers from Worx will ensure you get the job done quickly and effectively.

Summary

Article Name

A 7-Step Guide to Getting a Perfectly Shaped Garden

Description

Garden bed edging can be achieved by picking your plants, finding a location, preparing the space, making and edging an outline, clearing the area, and prepping the soil.